Beloved Reunion
by Lillix Vail
Summary: It's been ten years to the day since little Chihiro left the Spirit World. She has been busy with her personal project. Will it result in seeing her one true love on the tenth anniversary of her departure?


**Title: **Beloved Reunion.

**Author: **Lillix Vail

**Disclaimer: **The movie, nor the characters of 'Spirited Away' belong to me, or am I gaining any money from this fiction. This is purely for my own pleasure.

**Summary: **It's been ten years to the day since little Chihiro left the Spirit World. She has been busy with her personal project. Will it result in seeing her one true love on the tenth anniversary of her departure?

**Author Notes: **Well it's been awhile for me! This is my first fanfic in quite some time, so any help would be very greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoy my little story!

* * *

It had been ten years since Chihiro had made Haku promise they would see each other again. It was ten years ago that the idea was formed in her head to get the Kohaku River to flow once again. She had taken up her idea when she was a mere fourteen years of age, supported by her parents, fellow school mates and a score of lawyers and environmentalists and anybody else who wanted to see that river flow. Another four years saw the apartments demolished, and all the cement taken away. Another year past before the Kohaku River flowed. Of course, they had to dig out the source of the river, and reroute it to flow back to its original path in which it had been flowing for thousands of years, before mankind filled it in. It was then one more year before the river flowed as it had before the apartments. Shrines had been put up, and everyone prayed for the former River Spirit to return home. But none prayed more than Chihiro. She had not forgotten her beloved dragon, or her friends in the Spirit World.

She missed them dearly, but she knew she could not leave all this work she had done. This was her best work, defeating everybody to see Haku's river flow once again. The only thing missing was the River Spirit himself.

"Where are you Chihiro? Chihiro! Come down, quickly!" Someone cried.

She abandoned her thoughts and hurried down the pathway and towards the river. She saw many people crowding around something and pushed her way to the front.

"What's going on?" She asked softly, turning and facing the crowd.

"It was a dragon! We saw a dragon in the river!" Someone cried.

She spun around, but saw nothing. She searched frantically, but to no avail.

"Are you certain?" She asked.

Three nodded reverently, yet quickly.

"Okay. All go back to the tents. This is something I need to do alone," Chihiro said calmly.

"You just want the dragon to yourself!" A girl cried.

"I know this spirit very well. If someone else goes in, he may attack them. There's a great chance he won't remember me either, but I must, as this is my work; my dream, being fulfilled. I will let you know what happens, but please, let me do this alone," Chihiro begged to the crowd.

They slowly backed away and towards the tents, leaving Chihiro alone with the rushing water. She turned to it and sighed.

"Haku, have you really come back or is someone playing foolish tricks on us? On me?" She asked the river. "Kohaku River, are you merely playing with all of us, or has our beloved Haku returned to us, to you and me?"

Silence was her answer.

"Haku, Haku, Haku," She chuckled, tilting her head to the side. "You just want me to play your games. You want me to believe you may or may not be there."

The river merely continued flowing.

"Well, I'm finding out if you're truly here or not, whether you're ready or not. I've waited ten years, and heard nothing. Yubaba cannot bind you to any contract while you know your name and when your river runs free again."

She stepped into the water, and instantly was soaked. She laughed, and waded further into the river. She merely stood, waist deep in water, and waited. Waited for any sign her beloved white dragon had returned.

For an hour, there was nothing. For another, there was nothing. Nobody dared come down to see if Chihiro was alright. They knew she would be furious if they interrupted her and her search.

Chihiro waited for what seemed like years until she felt something vital return to the river. Her once closed eyes snapped open and she began to speak lovingly to the river.

"Kohaku River, have you kept me here this whole time for your pleasure? I can assure you that I would stay forever and a day just to see our beloved Haku return. You need him as much as I do. Now, I know you've heard this before, but allow me to tell you again. Feel free to stop me anytime you get bored of my tale," Chihiro said good naturedly, sitting on the rock in the middle of the river, making sure to keep a good amount of herself in contact with the water. "I was young, as I've told you. Ten years to this day, in fact. I know that it's crazy, but I fell in love at ten years old. I didn't know at the time it was love, oh no, but it was. As I grew older, so did the feeling. You know how many times I was tempted to go back to the Spirit World, just to stir Haku up and leave again. I nearly did, I got to the entrance but stoped. I knew that it wasn't the right thing to do. He'd be so happy to see me, but for a fleeting moment only. I couldn't do that to him or myself. I called his name, and that's all I did. I walked away.

"I had work to do here; you know that I could never abandon you in such early stages of your rebirth. I speak of you as if you're my child. And in a way, you are. I have used so much time, resources and energy to get to flow. And I succeeded. You are my beautiful river as much as Haku's, now. I couldn't let harm come to you now. Not after so long."

She was aware she was being watched, but smiled instead of reacting. She slid back into the river and walked upstream a little, feeling the eyes following her.

"You are my creation, in a sense. You straightened me out from that bratty child I once was. Haku and you did. This is my repayment to you. Both the Kohaku River and the River Spirit Kohaku have a place in my heart, and a firm place in my memories."

Chihiro allowed herself to completely submerge herself within the river, before emerging once again. She walked back downstream and saw a flash of white in the water. She grinned and called the name of her beloved.

"Haku... Haku... Come back to your river... you know my story, Haku... now come back to the river... come back to us, Haku..." She called softly and sweetly.

"Chihiro..?"

She turned and saw a pair of jade eyes staring at her.

"Haku," She responded in kind.

They stared at each other before Chihiro said, "Now Kohaku River, I told you we'd get our beloved dragon back."

The river gurgled in response, which elicited a chuckle from Chihiro.

"I see you agree with me," She said, before turning her attention back to the Spirit.

"How... when... did you do this, Chihiro?" Haku asked, walking into the river, his river, for the first time in many years.

"Yes, and with the help of many skilled others," She said softly, smiling up into the jade eyes she loved so much.

"Why, Chihiro?"

"Because you deserved it. It is my repayment to you," She said softly, touching his cheek gently. "You saved me and asked nothing from me except to keep faith in you. I kept that promise, Haku, and repaid you for your help. The promise was simply not enough; I needed to keep busy somehow."

Haku looked around at his river and smiled, "It seems so. You have been telling this river a great many things over the past six years."

"I spoke to the river before it flowed. It needed a way, a reason, to come back and flow for you," Chihiro said.

"And you did the job. My Sen, my Chihiro," Haku said, taking the hand on his cheek in his. "I cannot thank you enough for this."

"You don't need to thank me, Haku. Just live here, and keep living, I'm never leaving this place, I love you both too much to leave," Chihiro said, without thinking.

"You never told the river that," Haku said with a soft smile on his face.

"It wasn't meant to come out now," Chihiro said, but looked up into sorrowful eyes. "But I always meant to tell you."

"I would never let you go again, Chihiro. I felt like dying after you left and went through the tunnel. I had so badly wanted to follow you, take you in my arms and fly away with you. But it wasn't to be, not yet. I had to wait until you, my beloved and cherished human, took up the battle for my river, our river it seems, to run again. And as soon as it did, I felt free of Yubaba. I didn't know what it was until a few months, but I felt so free. You won the battle and my freedom," Haku said, taking her into his arms and holding her like a fragile piece of art.

"And I'd do it again and again if need be," She replied softly, hugging him back.

He pulled back and stared into her eyes. She smiled her beautiful smile at him, and cocked her head, as was her quirk these days. He unwrapped an arm from around her and grasped the back of her neck gently. Chihiro knew what he was going to do, and she closed her eyes as her head was pulled forward slowly.

The feeling of his lips on hers was like nothing she had ever felt before. They pulled back and looked into each other's eyes.

"I love you Chihiro."

"And I love you, Haku."

As they kissed each other again, the river gurgled in happiness, content to have its Guardian and mate together.


End file.
